Second Overtime | JENSOO & CHAELISA

Chapter XXXV

Tzuyu didn't send a message to Moonbyul right away.

She sat on the edge of her bed for nearly twenty minutes, still in her uniform, phone gripped between both hands while Jihyo's last message glowed on the screen.

Jihyo: You forgot to chat me that you got home last night. Don't forget today :)

The smiley face stared back at her. It looked harmless. That was what made it worse.

Tzuyu had spent years learning how Jihyo destroyed people by using a soft voice, a gentle hand on an arm, a concerned smile. The kind of things no one expected before she struck.

Now she knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end.

She knew Jihyo might already suspect her, suspect that she had found out about the hidden album, the video, the photos of Jennie and the draft message to Chaerin.

Because of this, Tzuyu thought, maybe Jihyo was testing her loyalty by having Nayeon watched and gathering enough evidence to take her away from Jennie. The thought made her sick. If Jihyo succeeded, Jennie would be isolated, trapped, and left entirely in Jihyo's hands.

If anyone needed therapy, it was Jihyo.

Tzuyu pressed her thumb against the side of her phone until it hurt.

Moonbyul had asked her to find out if she ever got the chance. Find out if the video is real. If you can safely delete it, delete it. If you can see whether there are copies, delete them too and remember everything she says. Tzuyu had remembered. That was the problem. She remembered too much.

She opened Moonbyul's chat. For a long moment, she only stared at the empty message box. Then she typed: I found it. Deleted it. Typed: You were right. Deleted that too. Typed: I think she knows. Her finger hovered over send.

Before she could press it, a new message appeared.

Moonbyul: Are you okay?

Tzuyu was surprised at her message. Was she a psychic?

Tzuyu: Yes, why?

Moonbyul: Because you keep typing, deleting, and not sending anything.

Tzuyu: How would you even know that? Have you been staring at my chat the whole time?

Moonbyul: Of course not. I was about to send you a message, then I saw you doing that. So I waited. Which makes me think, something happened, right?"

Despite everything, a tiny, humorless laugh slipped out of Tzuyu's mouth. Of course that made sense.

Tzuyu: You're right, something happened.

The reply came almost immediately.

Moonbyul: Okay, did she do anything to you? Are you safe?

Tzuyu: Yeah, I'm fine.

Moonbyul: Are you alone right now?

Tzuyu: Yes, why?

Moonbyul: Can I call?

Tzuyu stared at the question.

A call felt too real. Messaging was easier, she could choose her words before sending them. Talking meant exposure, vulnerability.

But her hands were shaking. And she was so tired of being alone with what she had seen.

Tzuyu: Yes.

The call came two seconds later. Tzuyu answered and pressed the phone to her ear. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Moonbyul said, low and steady, "Tzuyu?"